


Marco's Gone Mad

by MrsPineTree



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: F/M, Svtfoe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-29 03:24:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6356968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsPineTree/pseuds/MrsPineTree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toffee attacks Star and Marco to get a flick of hair from Marco.<br/>Suddenly, the boy goes mad and attacks Star. Marco doesn't seem to remember anything about this attack, causing a break in his friendship with Star.</p><p>Does Marco have a doppelganger? <br/>What does that have to do with Toffee's attack? <br/>What should Star do now?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Attack On Marco

"We stand no chance against Star" one of the huge and rather scary looking monsters said to another. "I don't see how we should ever get that wand."

"Yeah!" The other monster replied. "And Toffee? He's just messing around ever since the Wand became stronger. I don't think we can follow his lead any longer. He doesn't seem to care anymore. Each day he's locked in his room and doesn't come out until late at night. I have no plan of what he's doing in there and I don't think I want to know!"

The monsters kept talking how they didn't believe in their leader Toffee until the one they were talking about entered the room. He cleared his throat, slowly walking towards them. He had a neutral look on his face, keeping his eyes towards the monsters.

"You shouldn't lose your trust in me that easily, gentlemen!" Toffee replied to their gossiping. "In fact, I've finally got the perfect solution to finally get the wand between our fingers. I've been working on something that will mess up Star's mind for long enough so that we can reach our goal."

"With what? What's your plan?" One of the monsters asked.

"I'll tell you when the time's right. But first... I'll need you to get me something from a certain earth boy..." Toffee hissed, his eyes narrowing.

\--

"STAR!! Would you please just hurry up already? We're gonna be too late to class!" Marco Diaz yelled from outside the door to Star Butterfly's room.

"Just one moment, Marco! I can't really decide if I should go for the pigtails or the ponytail..." Star shouted back, using her wand to change her hairstyle each second.

Marco groaned in annoyance and leanded against the door, hitting his face with his hand. This hairstyle discussion had been going on for over a month and the boy tried to be patient with the blonde, but was slowly about to fail. "Y'know, I really don't want to get any detention for being late just because you can't decide how you should wear your hair. Just leave it open or whatever! No one cares!"

A gasp could be heard from inside the room and Star opened the door, causing Marco to fall backwards into the door. "Don't you ever say that again!! Oscar would care! I'm sure he would. I'm pretty certain he has an eye for beautiful and cute hairstyles!" Star answered, chewing on her wand as she started daydreaming about Oscar.

Marco got up groaning, petting the dust off of himself. "I can't believe you're doing all that just to impress a guy!" Marco replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh yeah? Don't get me started on how you brush your eyebrows each morning to keep them in place in case Jackie Lynn Thomas takes a closer look!" Star smirked.

A slight blush crossed Marco's face as he felt busted. He rubbed his arm nervously, glaring at Star. "A-Are you done now? Can we go?"

Star gave her friend an enthusiastic nod before leaving the house with him. They didn't got far as a portal was opening up right in front of them and a wall of monsters appeared.

"Aw, seriously?! Not now! We're in a hurry!" Marco shouted out.

Toffee stepped out of the still opened portal, looking at Marco who was getting into position to use his karate on the monsters. "... Get the boy!"

"WHAT??" Marco screamed out, watching as the monster all rushed towards him, ready to attack him instantly.

Star rushed over to the brunette, slamming some of them away with an attack of her wand. "What do you want from him? It's me you want!" Star asked.

None of the monsters replied to Star's question, neither did Toffee. The lizard just watched the monsters preparing for their attack.

Marco took a few steps back, keeping his hands protectively in front of himself in case any sudden moves would happen. He looked over to Star who was holding up her wand in defense. His view went down to her legs and further down to her shoes. He gasped when he spotted that her shoelaces were untied. He bit his lips, trying to hold the urge in to tell Star about it, but couldn't. "St-Star... your shoes", he said.

Star turned her head to face Marco. "What about them?" She asked.

"They're open! You might want to tie them before you fight!" Marco replied, pointing down to her shoes.

With an annoyed groan, Star glared at her friend. "Seriously, Marco? Right now?" She asked. "This is not the time for-"

"Just do it already!!" Marco interrupted her, being demanding on that matter. He was a safe guy and he knew that. But he hated it that everyone else knew that as well. Still, as much as he tried to keep it in, he couldn't look away when he saw something that could lead to a potential accident and could be avoided. "Go ahead! I've got this!"

Another groan went from Star's lips as she knelt down to tie her shoes. "Sometimes I wish you weren't so safe!" She mumbled.

Marco rolled his eyes at this, kicking and hitting away the monsters that came to attack him. He rushed towards Toffee, knowing he was the head behind it all. If he would manage to hurt him, the monsters would leave. He tossed his leg up in the air as soon as he reached him, about to kick him. He failed doing so as Toffee caught his leg mid-air, slamming the boy down to the ground.

"Get him!" Toffee commanded with a stone cold expression. Two Monsters went onto Marco, pressing him down to the ground. Toffee looked down to the boy, a soft smirk crossing his face. "Thank you for cooperating with us, Karate-Boy! I'm sure you will come in useful in the future!"

"Wh-What?? St-STAR!" Marco shouted in panic. "STAR!! HELP ME!!" He looked over to his blonde friend who was stil busy bonding her shoes.

Before Marco even knew it, Toffee took out a tweezer and ripped out a flick of Marco's hair, filling it into a test tube. "Excellent!" he said and looked at the group of Monsters. "We've got what we wanted! Let's go!"

As quickly as they appeared, they disappeared again and left Marco puzzled. "... What the heck was that?" He mumbled, rubbing the part of his head where they took the hair from. He looked over to Star, who was finally done tying her shoes.

Star got up, looking over to Marco who was still laying on the ground. She gasped, rushing over to him and picking him up. "I'm so sorry, Marco! Are you okay?" She asked, looking at him in worry.

The boy dusted himself off and drove with his fingers through his hair to fix it. "Yes, I am! I have no idea what that was about!"

"Did they hurt you?"

"Not really! All they did was pulling out some of my hair. I thought they were about to kill me, or something." Marco answered and sighed. "Let's worry about that later. We're already late."

Marco started walking off while Star was standing exactly where she was, not moving a bit. She looked to the ground, biting her bottom lip. He stopped and turned around to face her as soon as he noticed that she wasn't following him. Her face looked like she accidentally stepped on a puppy, or at least that was what Marco compared her expression with. 

"You okay, Star? Come on!" Marco said again, hoping that Star would actually follow him this time.

A long moment of silence. Star still didn't move. she didn't face Marco.

"I'm sorry..." She finally decided to break the silence between them. Her voice sounded thick, like she was about to cry.

"For what?" Marco asked back immediately, raising up an eyebrow. Did her shoulders tremble?

"... I didn't protect you when you needed me the most. I don't know what came over me. I'm so sorry, Marco, I just-"

"Star! Calm down!" Marco blurted out, interrupting her. He went over to the princess, putting his hand on her shoulder. His other hand lifted up her chin to face her. It was then when he noticed she was actually crying. "It's okay! It was me who told you to tie your shoelaces. I distracted you! It's my stupid safety's fault. Not yours." He smiled softly. "Besides, they didn't hurt me. Not as much as I thought they would. So, don't worry about it!"

Star looked back at Marco, sighing and pulling her chin away before looking back down again.

Marco filled his cheeks with air and blew it out again in frustration. He suddenly smiled widely and grabbed Star's wrist, pulling her along. "Come on, Star!! If you think I'm gonna get detention because of those stupid monsters, you're wrong!" He shouted out and winked at the girl before running with her to school.

They arrived there too late and earned, as Marco feared, detention. As much as Marco tried to talk Star and himself out of it, he couldn't. They sat down on their seats and the brown-haired boy followed the lessons while Star was still feeling absolutely miserable.

The blonde princess looked out of the window, lost in her thoughts. She was thinking about the battle that she missed out on over and over again. As much as she tried, she couldn't help but feel guilty. Even after Marco told her not to.

After a short while, Marco looked over to his female friend and noticed her state. He sighed and took out a piece of paper to write something down - a message for Star as they were not allowed to talk:

_'I told you not to worry about it. I'm fine. We're here and the monsters are gone.  
Don't worry about this detention thing either. It's all gonna be okay. : )'_

He shoved the message over to Star before focussing back to the teacher and the lesson.

Star read Marco's written words, letting out a soft sigh that only she was aware of. She took out a pen, writing her answer below Marco's message.

_'I know. It's not just that. If I fail protecting you in this kind of situation, how am I gonna protect Mewnie once I become a queen? I disappointed you and I'm gonna disappoint everyone else, too.'_

She handed the paper back to Marco, who immediately replied.

_'You're getting weird, Star! You're overreacting. It's my fault, not yours! Please stop thinking that it's your fault!'_

Star received the paper, not answering anymore. She took out her wand, chewing on it. This habit didn't seem to ever die down.

"Star!!" Marco blurted out when he noticed Star wasn't about to answer.

"Marco Diaz!" Miss Skullnick shouted back to the boy. "If you plan on getting more detention, go ahead and keep interrupting my lesson!"

"Sorry, Miss Skullnick!" Marco mumbled and hid away the piece of paper he was writing on with Star, in fear the teacher who got turned into a troll might see it and read it aloud in class. This was no conversation their classmates needed to know about.

After the class ended, Marco went out of the classroom with Star. He glared at her slightly. Before he could say anything, Star spoke.

"Just quit it, Marco! I don't wanna hear about how irrational this is and how much I'm overreacting. I know you wanna cheer me up and make me feel better and I'm really thankful, but... for now, just let me be sad. Okay? I'll be fine." Star said and gave a small smile to Marco. "Trust me. I'm gonna be okay!"

Marco only nodded at this. There was nothing he could or wanted to say. He accepted Star's requirement to be left alone with it and carried on their way towards the cafeteria. When they walked past the restrooms, Marco stopped. "Oh, uh! Wait a sec! I'll be back immediately, just gonna use the bathroom!" He said and went inside the men's restroom.

Star decided to wait outside, chewing on her wand once again. She turned around to watch the students walk by to grab something to eat. Each of them greeted her and she waved back, smiling softly. She loved how everyone was always so sweet to her and in that moment, it cheered her up.

"Star!"

The blonde turned around when she heard Marco's voice calling her. "Oh, back already? Don't tell me you limited your time of washing hands down to-" She stopped talking when she took a closer look at her friend.

Marco's eyes were glowing red, glaring at her and panting in fury.

"... Marco?" Star mumbled, giving him a worried look.

The boy slammed his hand into the lockers next to him, hitting a dent right into it. He let out a deep growl, his glare at Star intensifying.

Star jumped back in surprise, her eyes widening. "Marco!! What on earth is wrong with you??"

Marco's actions drew the attention of all students around to them. He kicked out, kicking Star's wand out of her hand.

"Ah! Marco!!" Star's face was filled with shock and horror. She held the hand Marco kicked and took a few steps back when he got closer. "Marco, I don't understand! Please stop! What is wrong with you? A-Are you mad at me, or something?!" She asked with a trembling voice. "You're scaring me, Marco! Please..."

Marco didn't seem to listen. He kicked out again. The other students were screaming, running off to get away from the fight.

Star duck down, avoiding Marco's kick closely. She picked up her wand, pointing it at Marco. "Don't make me attack you! Please!" She shouted out desperately, hoping Marco would finally stop.

Marco let out another growl, kicking away Star's legs to make her fall to the ground.

The girl let out a scream, still pointing the wand at the brown-haired. "Marco!! Stop!!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face. She kept her face down to the ground, sobbing horribly.

The boy's attention was drawn away from Star to the window for a minute before he ran back into the bathroom, keeping Star on the ground all by herself.

After a minute or two, Star didn't know and didn't even care, she heard a voice speaking to her.

"... Star?"

She looked up, gasping when she saw Marco standing in front of her. He seemed worried, but Star didn't care about that. She raised up her wand again, glaring at him. "Stay away!!" She shouted at him.

Being thrown back by that, Marco's eyes widened at Star's reaction. "Wha... ? Star, what's wrong? What happened?" He asked, trying to reach out to her. "Why are you-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!" Star screeched. "STAY AWAY!!" She got up, never putting down her wand. She took a few steps back before running off.

Marco watched her running away from him, looking around. No one was around and all that was left was that dent in the lockers.  
"... What happened?" He mumbled to himself.


	2. According to Plan

Confused and with his head held down, Marco entered his house and was immediately greeted by his parents who gave him a look of worry. He frowned, trying to avoid their looks. He figured Star would be home. And no matter what she told them, it must have been something terrible about him. He was about to say something when he suddenly felt the arms of his mother being wrapped around him.

"You okay, sweetheart? We thought something happened to you!" Angie Diaz said and squeezed her son maybe a little too tight.

"I'm fine, Mom! Is Star here?" Marco asked, pulling himself out of Angie's tight hug.

Rafael Diaz looked at his wife, frowning. "That's the point!" He answered.

"She is home, but she's really upset! We thought something happened to you. She didn't even want to talk to us. She rushed upstairs and locked herself inside her room." Angie explained, sighing heavily. "What happened, Marco?"

"I wish I knew!" Marco replied and crossed his arms. "Look, I'm gonna explain that later. I really need to talk to Star. She is still upstairs, right?" He started walking towards the stairs, only being stopped by her mother's voice.

"But, Marco-"

"I'm okay, Mom!" Marco groaned out, interrupting her. "I'm... I'm okay. The one we should worry about is Star! Not me! I'm fine! Star isn't! Okay?" He waited for a nod from his parents before going upstairs.

He stopped in front of the door to Star's room. He raised his hand, about to knock. He hesitated for a moment. He tried to focus his thoughts before actually knocking. "Star?"

No answer.

He knocked again. "Star?!" He exclaimed again. "It's me! Please, open the door! I'm here to talk to you!"

Still no answer.

"... This really takes my patience, Star! I have no idea what's going on, my parents have no idea what's going on and I'd really appreciate it if you'd just tell me! I know you're in there, so just open the door and talk to me!" Marco continued.

The door finally opened only a slit by Star using her magic. Marco looked inside, facing the wand first before he could take a look at Star. Her room was dark and the light breaking into the room revealed the glare on her face.

"Stay out!" She hissed, threatening him with her wand again. "Not... a single... step... inside!"

"Are you crazy? It's me!" Marco shouted.

"No, are YOU crazy?" Star replied with tears in her eyes. "You know exactly what you did! Don't play stupid on me! How could you do this to me? What did I do to you? Is it because I didn't save you this morning? Why, Marco?"

"I never did anything! I have no idea what you're talking about! What are you so afraid of? Why do you threat me with your wand? You act like I'm the bad guy!" Marco replied. "What is going on??"

Star looked down, sobbing. "I thought we were friends..."

"We _are_ friends! Please believe me when I say that-"

"Stop lying to me!!" Star shouted out, slamming the door shut. Ending the conversation.

Marco groaned at that, his hands turning into fists. "Fine!! You know what? Believe whatever you want! I really don't know what has gotten into you, but if you ever care to tell me... you know where to find me!" He shouted and went downstairs again. He looked up to face his parents who had heard what they talked about. The brown-haired groaned and went over to the door. "I'll take a walk! Gonna be back later!" He snapped and left the house, leaving his parents puzzled.

About an hour later, knocking could be heard at the front door. Angie opened up to see her son, stepping aside to let him in. His eyes were glowing red and he growled beneath his breath. "Welcome back, Marco!" She said cheerfully, not receiving an answer.

Instead, Marco walked towards the stairs, step by step.

"... Marco? Honey, are you okay?" Angie asked, following her son and grabbing him by his shoulder. "You look strange! What's with your eyes?"

Marco didn't reply, instead hitting his ellbow right into Angie's stomach, causing her to fall. He let out another threatening growl before walking upstairs.

Letting out a wimp, Angie fell down to the ground and held her stomach in pain.

Rafael rushed towards his wife, getting down on his knees and wrapping his arms protectively around her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Angie shook her head. She had tears in her eyes and looked up to where Marco went. "... Star!" was the only thing she could say.

Marco eventually arrived at Star's room, taking a deep breath before kicking the door in. He glared at the blonde who looked back at him in horror.

As soon as Star saw Marco standing in her room with his eyes glowing red, she jumped up from her bed, pointing her wand at him. "Get out!! I swear, Marco, don't come any closer! I won't hesitate to use my magic against you!"

Marco wasn't impressed by this. He jumped off the ground, kicking Star down to her bed only to jump on it to stand over her. He was about to slam his foot right down to her stomach, when Star finally took action.

The princess hid her face behind her wand, not taking it off of Marco. "Narwhal blast!!" Star shouted out, causing a storm of Narwhal's to attack Marco, pushing him off of the bed and against the wall of the room. When he let out growls of pain and struggled to get up, Star stood up from her bed and squeezed her eyes shut. "NARWHAL BLAST!!" She screamed, firing another storm at Marco, who was still on the ground. Star panted heavily, breaking out in tears. "I'm... I'm sorry. But you left me no other choice. I warned you!" She sobbed. "Why are you doing that? Why... ?"

In that moment, Rafael and Angie arrived in Star's room, picking up their unconscious son and carrying him downstairs. They threw him out of their house, locking the door from inside.

"This is insane! He's our son! We can't throw him out, Rafael!" Angie said with tears in her eyes.

"You've seen what he was capable of. I don't know what made him lose his mind, but he's dangerous. We need to keep him locked out until we know what's wrong with him!" Rafael answered.

"But... he's my baby! I can't... believe he did that to me. I can't believe he... did that to Star!" Angie sobbed, burying her face into her hands.  
It took them about fifteen minutes until Rafael decided to check if Marco was still outside. He was gone. He let out a sigh, not knowing if it was from releaf or misery. He took his wife over to their couch, hugging her until she was calm enough so that they could focus on caring for Star.

Another hour went by, it was dark by then, and Marco returned to his house, sipping on a take-away drink he got himself. He blinked a few times when he noticed a suitcase standing in front of the door. Taking a closer look at it, he realized that it was his suitcase with all his clothes and belongings. He knocked on the door. 

Once. 

Twice.

When no one opened up, he kept knocking until he finally heard the door unlocking.

The door opened only a little, enough for Rafael to look out of it to see Marco standing outside. "Marco..."

"What the heck is that all about?? What's with that suitcase?" The boy asked.

"I'm sorry, Marco, but for as long as we don't know what's-"

"No!" Marco interrupted his father. "No! Don't tell me you're mad at me, too. Dad, I never did anything! I did nothing to Star! I swear, I don't know what happened!"

Rafael raised his voice instantly. "You have hurt your mother!! You hurt your mother and you hurt Star! And as long as you haven't got yourself under control, we won't let you back inside. You're dangerous. Please, don't make it so hard for your mother and me. It's better for us all if you leave for now!"

"Where am I supposed to stay?" Marco exclaimed.

"We're sorry, Marco!" was all Rafael said before closing the door again.

The brown-haired boy fell down to his knees, burying his face in both his hands. He sobbed a few times and remained like this for ten minutes until he finally looked up again, wiping his tears away and taking out his phone. He dialed a number, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Ferguson? Are you at home? ... Yeah, can I stay with you a night or two? I'll tell you why later."

\--

Marco was sitting on Ferguson's bed while the redhead prepared a guest bed for his friend. He held a can of cola between his hands, spinning it around nervously, frowning.

"So, let me get this straight!" Ferguson started as he struggled to cover the bed with bed sheets. "Star's mad at you, your parents kicked you out and you have absolutely no idea why?!"

Marco nodded. "No one ever tells me what happened. My dad called me dangerous and said I hurt my mother. Star keeps asking me why I do whatever she thinks I'm doing. And I never did anything. They act like I would have attacked anyone. But I'd never do that!"

"Are you sleepwalking? Maybe you did something stupid in your sleep!" Ferguson suggested.

"Star turned mad at me when I came back from the restroom at school! I was never asleep! I was fully awake, all the time." Marco answered and sighed, laying down into his bed when his friend finished preparing it for him.

"Look, maybe we should just sleep for now. We will wait and see what happens tomorrow. Maybe it's all just a huge misunderstanding, but right now there's nothing we can do! Relax, Marco. I'm sure we can fix this!" Ferguson said, trying to cheer his best friend up.

"Thank you! I hope you're right!" Marco answered and turned around, closing his eyes.

Ferguson put the lights out, laying down in his bed and playing with his fingers nervously as he looked over to Marco who was trying to fall asleep. "Uhh... Marco?!"  
"Yes, Ferguson?" Marco asked, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Umm... I've... wanted to ask you this for a while now. Are you, like, into Star?" Ferguson asked.

Marco's eyes widened and he turned back around to face the redhead. "What??"

"Are you into her? Do you... like-like her?" Ferguson asked again.

"Why do you even ask that? Are _you_ into her?" Marco asked back, a smirk crossing his face.

Ferguson immediately blushed, putting his arms up in defense. "Heck, no! I mean, she's really cute and awesome, but Alfonso and I always kept our fingers off of her because we thought you and her were... an item or something!"

Marco laughed a little about that. "Oh no, we're not. She's one of my best friends, she could be my sister! Besides, you know exactly whom I like!"

"Feelings can change, Marco. Sometimes even without realizing it. Have you never even considered it?" Ferguson asked.

Another laugh crossed Marco's face. "Did you read the romance novels of your mother again?" He asked, but then sighed. "No, I've never thought about it. And considering how things are right now, I shouldn't start with it. She hates me. This would never turn out good!" Feeling sad, he laid back down into his pillow, driving one hand through his thick, brown hair.

"UH-HUH!" Ferguson bursted out with a smirk. "So, you _do_ like her! You actually considered it! Marco Diaz likes Star Butterfly!!"

Marco blushed at that. "I do _not_ like her. Period. Let's... Let's just get to sleep! This day was horrible and I really want to get it over with." He replied and sighed as he closed his eyes again. "Thank you for letting me stay here, Ferg." It didn't take long until he finally fell asleep, exhausted and miserable.

\--

"Things are going according to plan!" Toffee said to another monster who was standing next to him. "Star's friendship with the karate-boy broke. She's weak. We can now start the second step of our plan."

"And what would that be?" The monster asked.

"I want you to get me something... bring me the boy!" Toffee hissed with an expression, cold as ice.


	3. Realization

The next day arrived and three times a knock was the only thing that broke the silence in Star's room. She was laying on her bed, squeezing her pillow tightly against her body. She gasped when she heard the knock and tightened the grip around her wand which she never let go of. "Stay out, Marco!!" She shouted.

"No, it's me! Mrs. Diaz! Can I come in, Star?" Angie asked. She was standing outside with a huge cup of ice cream in her hands and two spoons. She knew that ice cream was a good way to heal a sad soul, or at least make the pain a little less.

"Come in..." Star mumbled and relaxed back into her pillow.

Angie entered the room, sitting down on Star's bed, holding up the cup of ice cream. "I thought you might want to share some ice cream with me."

"Well... Who can say no to ice cream?" Star asked and a soft smile appeared on her lips. She took one of the spoons and ate a spoonful of it. "Where is he?"

Angie sighed. "I don't know. We threw him out for now. We can't let him stay here as long as he attacks us!"

"You threw him out... ?" Star asked.

With tears in her eyes, Angie nodded. "I feel terrible about it! He is my son, my precious baby. It doesn't look like him to attack us. He's a straight A student, clever, funny and usually so calm and collected. The only time he has ever kicked or hit me was when I was pregnant with him. I don't know what's wrong with him!"

Star's eyes filled with tears as well and she shoved another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. "I can't believe he did that to me either. He was my friend. I never thought he-" Star suddenly stopped and looked up with widened eyes, laying one hand down on Angie's shoulders. "Mrs. Diaz? Say that again..."

"Say what again?"

"The last thing you said..." Star answered, looking at the woman.

"I don't know what's wrong with him?!" Angie replied, shrugging.

"No! The other thing you said last!" Star blurted out.

"The only time he has ever kicked or hit-"

"NO! The thing you said... about his look... or something!"

"It doesn't look like him to attack us?!" Angie repeated.

Star suddenly jumped up from her bed, the spoon she held dropping to the ground. "It doesn't look like him!! This isn't like Marco at all!" Star shouted out and gasped. "The monsters!! Toffee!! He attacked Marco yesterday morning when we went to school! They must have done something to him! Whatever happened, Marco isn't himself anymore! He's totally innocent and we didn't believe him!"

Angie put her hands over her mouth, looking at Star in shock. "You mean... we threw him out, although he was innocent this entire time? These scary monsters were just messing with him?" She mumbled.

"Sort of! I _have_ to find him! Where did he go?" Star asked in panic, about to head out of the door, only waiting for Angie's response.

"I don't know! He could be everywhere!" Angie said, frowning.

Star didn't waste any time. "Marco!!" She shouted out before rushing out of the room, downstairs and left the house. She looked around, hoping to find a single trace of where Marco could have gone to, but she had absolutely no idea where to look for him first. In her panic, she ran as fast as she could to the mall. She was certain, if she would find him somewhere, it would be inside the Karate Dojo he trained in. Completely out of breath, she arrived there, her eyes scouting around, hoping to spot the brown-haired boy. "Marco!" She exclaimed, hoping he would react to her calls, but he didn't seem to be there. All she saw was Jeremy Birnbaum, who was taking his training. Star rushed over to him, panting to catch her breath. "Where is he?"

"Where's who?" Jeremy stopped kicking his dummy to turn around, facing Star.

"Don't act like a fool! Where's Marco??" Star shouted.

"Not here!" Jeremy answered, turning away from Star to focus on his dummy once again.

"I can see that! Have you seen him? Was he here?" Star asked, biting her bottom lip to avoid losing her patience.

"Look, I have no idea where your boyfriend is..." Jeremy began.

" _Boyfriend_...?!" Star raised up an eyebrow.

"And I honestly couldn't care less. It's probably the best for him to stay out of Karate training as he's not gonna make it far here! Be smart and just leave, okay blondie?" Jeremy said and chuckled.

Star lost it. She let out a sharp growl, pushing Jeremy against a wall face first. "Listen up, you little twerp!" She hissed, pointing her wand at the boy. "I don't care a single bit about your rivalry! But I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't important for me to find Marco! So, either you answer my questions or I'll turn your life into a living nightmare! Did you hear me??"

"Ow! Ow! Okay, okay! He was here yesterday, but hasn't been ever since. I don't know where he is right now! He seemed a little upset yesterday, but that's all I know! Honest!! Let me go!!" Jeremy begged, struggling to get free.

Star let go of him, glaring at him. "Much better! And you better didn't lie to me!" She warned him and turned around, leaving the Dojo. She leaned against the wall, sliding down on it to sit on the floor in front of the martial arts hall. She decided to wait. She hoped that he would come to take his karate lessons any minute as he usually did and wanted to wait for him. Always scared that if she would leave, he would arrive there.

And so she waited.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

She pulled her knees close to her body to hide her face in them. "Where are you?" She sobbed, biting her lips to not cry too loud.

After a little while, the trainer went out of his Dojo. His eyes widened when he saw Star sitting in front of it and sighed. "Hey there!" He said, gaining Star's attention. "Jeremy Birnbaum told me you're looking for Marco. I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm closing. Looks like he won't come here today. You should go home, maybe he's already waiting for you."

Star wiped away her tears, nodding. "Thank you! I hope you're right..." Star answered with a thick voice before walking off and leaving the mall.

\--

Marco was staring out of the window of Ferguson's room, lost in his thoughts. He appreciated his best friend's constant tries to cheer him up, but nothing was helping.

The redhead entered the room, holding a video game in his hands. "Marco! Look what I've got! How about we get us some Nachos and play until the sun rises again?" Ferguson asked enthusiastically.

The brown-haired only sighed, turning around to face Ferguson. "I'm sorry, but... I'm gonna take a walk if that's okay?! I want to see if my parents would let me in again! I need to talk to them, I need to talk to Star. I'm going crazy in here!" He said and left the room.

"Sure, buddy! Fight for love!" Ferguson shouted after Marco.

" _Not.. In love!_ " Marco yelled back up before he finally left the house. He didn't get far when a portal opened up right next to him. He gasped and his eyes widened. "St-Star?" He stuttered, smiling softly.

A crowd of Monsters went out of the portal, trapping the boy in a circle.

Marco's smile turned into a glare when he saw them. "What the... ? Get lost!! I'm really not in the mood to deal with you!" he exclaimed.

"And neither are we!" One of the monsters replied.

Before Marco even knew it, he felt someone hitting him against the back of his head, causing him to fall to the ground, unconsciously.

\--

Star arrived back at the house of the Diaz family, but stopped in her tracks when she noticed a familiar silhouette on the steps of the house. She gasped and rushed over when she identified it as Marco. "Marco!" She shouted out and hugged him tightly. "Where have you been? I was looking for you! _Waiting_ for you! I'm so sorry! I think I finally know what's going on. You're not evil! You're just-"

Marco pushed Star away from herself, growling silently.

Star looked up to face Marco, looking straight into those bright red-glowing eyes. A weak smile crossed her face. "It's okay! I know you don't want to do this!" Star said, getting up again.

Not impressed by her words, Marco kicked her back down to the ground.

Wimpering in pain, Star looked back up at her friend. "Please, Marco... Wake up! This is not you! I don't want to use magic on you again!" She begged.

Marco raised up his leg again, indicating to kick her again. Seeing that Star looked away when she was about to be kicked, he used that moment to disappear again.

When she realized she wasn't being kicked, Star looked up and couldn't see Marco anywhere. "Marco??" She shouted, sighing heavily. "Please... come back!"


End file.
